Padlock



March 16 1926.

- 1,576,699 R. L. WILLIAMSON PADLOCK Filed y '7. 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VEN TOR.

. ATTORNEIYS.

March 16 -1926. 576,699

- R 1.. WILLIAMSON PADLOCK- Filed May '7. 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 .ZITTORNEY IN VEJV' TOR.

Patented Mar. 16, 1926.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ROBERT I1. WILLIAMSON, F ERWIN, TENNESSEE.

PADLOCK.

Application filed May 7, 1925. Serial No. 28,705. m

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RO ERT L. lVILLIAM- 7 son, a citizen of the United States, residing at Erwin, in the county of Unicoi and State of Tennessee, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Padlocks, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawin s.

This invention relates to looks, and particularly to padlocks.

The object of the invention is to provide a tumbler lock wherein a plurality of tumblers are carried upon the bolt and move therewith, these tumblers being normally urged into such position as to prevent the retractive movement of the bolt and the tumblers by engaging against a stop but being shiftable out of, engagement with the stop to thereby permit the retraction of the bolt by the key.

A further object is to provide a lock of this character which is very simple, may

be cheaplymade, and in which the tumblers are capable of a great deal ofvariationsin design and combination so as to increase the number of tumbler combinations and changes which mav be made or used with various padlocks. I

Other objects have to do with the do tails of construction and arrangement of parts as will appear more fully hereinafter.

Myinvention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein I structed in accordance with myinvention,

, the front plate being removed;

:-howing the padlock closed; a I

Figure 3 is a side elevation of the bolt .with the tumblers, v

Figure 4 is an under side plan view of the part shown in Figure 3;

Figure 2 is a like view to Figure l but Figureb-sa side elevation 'of one of the tumblers; a

Figure 1 is a face view of a padlock con-- showing the tumblers in alignment with the bolt and the key inserted in the lock in dotted lines,

Figure l0 is a diagrammatic view showing the tumblers spread out from the bolt and in a variety of positions and showing how these tumblerswill act to prevent the operation of the lock unless all'the tumblers are brought into alignmentwith the slot in the bolt and also showing the key for operating the several tumblers;

Referring to these drawings, designates the casing of a padlock which, asusual, is preferably made intwo halves fastened together by rivets or any other like means and having a hasp 11 pivoted at 12 and adaptedto have its free endinsertible into or retractible from the recess 13, this hasp bein provided with a keeper opening 14. Slida ly mounted within the casing upon a transverselyextending pin or guide 15 is the bolt carrier '16 provided with the nose 17 which constitutes'the bolt'proper and which is adapted to pass through the keeper 14. .The rear end of this bolt is longitudinally, slotted, as at18, so as to engage over and slide upon the post 15,

thispostconstituting a stop, as will be later seen. The nose of the bolt is supported in suitable guide bearings 19 formed in the opposite Walls of the lock casing so that the bolt is guided-for rectilinear movement. One edge of the bolt is cut away, as at 20, so

as to form a shoulder 21against which the key is adapted to engage to retract the bolt. 1 1

Pivoted to the bolt 16 bythe pivot pin 22 area plurality of tumblers, the tumblers being designated 23, andbeing pivoted upon the pin 220a opposite sides of the bolt.

There may be" any number of these tumblers, these tumblers having any form desired, but eaclrt-umbler is provided with a longitudinally. extending; slot; 24 extending from the "rear edge ,of the tumbler and adapted to register with the slot-18 in the bolt. "Normally these tumblershare so disposed that the slots 24 do not register with the slot 18 and as a consequence the rear 'ends brute tum- "blers'bearaagainstthe jawsle which constitutes: therefq a. a st p prieren in rthe ear ward movementof the tumblers and preventing the rearward movement of the bolt. Each tumbler at its forward end, that is, at its pivotal end is formed with a downwardly extending nose 25 which is preferably grooved on its inner faceto receive the upper end of a spring 26. There is a spring 26 for each of the tumblers and each spring extends downward toward the lower end of the padlock and is coiled around a spring post 27, then carried over a post 28. These springs 26 act to force all of the tumblers forward and, therefore, force the bolt forward and also act to shift the tumblers upon their pivotal axes 22 so as to depress the rear ends ofthe tumblers and bring the slots 24: thereof out, of alignment with the slot 18 and out of alignment with the post 15. The sl'ots 2410f the several tumblers are disposed different distances from the lower edge of the tumbler so that the tumblers have to be lifted to different heights in order to bring all the slots in coincidence with or register with the slot 18.

For the purpose of pivotally shifting the tumblers against the action of the springs 26, I provide the key 29, the shank of which is cut out to form a series of stepped bits 30 each coinciding with one of the tumblers, and this key is insertible into a rotatable barrel 31 operatively supported for oscillation in the opposite wall of the, lock casing 10, this barrel being formed with the radial slot 32' and one wall of the lock casing being formed with a radial slot 33 with which the slot 32 is adapted to align in order to permit the insertion of the key. After the key is in serted it is rotated in a direction to carry the bits into engagement with the tumblers and the key engages these tumblers and lifts them agamst the action of the spring. Unless all of the tumblers have been brought up into alignment with theslot 18 of the, bolt, it is obvious that the bolt cannot be shifted rearward, but when this has been done then the tumblers and the bolt together may be shifted rearward upon the post 15 and the bolt is, of course, withdrawn from its engagement with the keeper 1a on the hasp 11. The hasp is then thrown upward by means of a plunger 84 which has a shank 35 dis posed within guide recesses 36 formed in the walls of the casing, the lower-end of this plunger being engaged by a spring 37 which is coiled around the post 88.

It is believed the operation of this device will be perfectly clear from what has gone before, Iii-order to close the hasp the bolt is withdrawn by the key in the manner described and then the hasp may be shifted downward against the action of' the plunger 34 and then locked by turning the key in the opposite direction. As soon as the bolt has been shot, the tumblers will. be, shifted by the springs 26 bearing against'the noses 25 of the plungers so as to carry the plungers downward and the slots 2% below the post 15. The bolt is then looked and cannot be unlocked until all of the tumblers have been shifted into operative position and the bolt and tumblers shifted rearward by the actuation of a proper key.

It will be seen from Figures 8 and 9 that the tumblers will differ in the width of the lower portion, that is, the portion below the slots 24. The deeper this portion below the slots 2%, the less in height the corresponding bit- 30 is made. This is also obvious from Figure 10, where the tumblers have been separated from the bolt, though shown as mounted upon the same axis, so as to illustrate their relative positions, certain of the tumblers being in alignment with the bolt and certain others out of alignment with the bolt.

claim 1. A lock including a keeper, a bolt mounted for rectilinear movement toward and from the keeper, the bolt carrying a transversely extending pivot pin, a plurality of tumblers mounted on the bolt, the bolt and said tumblers each having a longitudinally extending slot, each of the tumblers having at its forward end' a downwardly extending lug, a stop disposed behind the bolt and tumblers and with which the slot of the bolt engages, the tumblers being movable into a position where the slots are in register with each other to permit the retraction of the tumblers and the bolt, a plurality of springs, one for each tumbler, each spring engaging the downwardly extending lug andurging the tumblers downwardly into their obstructive position, the lock being formed with means for hunting the downward movement of the tumblers under the action of said springs, and key-actuated means for shifting the tumblers into posi tion with their slots in alignment with the stop ,and thenv retracting the, bolt with its tumblers.

2. A padlock including a. case, a U-shaped hasp pivoted at one end to the case and at its other end insertible into the case, a keeper disposed within the case behind which the hasp is adapted to be disposed, the keeper having a bolt aperture, a bolt mounted within the case for rectilinear movement toward or from the keeper, the bolt being longitudinally slotted, the slot being open at its rear end, a pivot pin carried by the bolt and projecting laterally therefrom in opposite directions, a plurality of tumblers mounted on said pivot pin on each side of the bolt, each tumbler having a slot extending forward from its rear end, a stop disposed behind the bolt and tumblers and with which the slot of the bolt at all times engages, the tumblers being movable into a position where the slots are in register with meeee 3 each other and with the top in order to bring their slots into alignment with the permit the retraction of the tumblers and stop and then. retracting the bolt with its bolt, springs urging the rearencls of the tumblers. v 10 tumblers downward and the bolt into pro- In testimony whereof I hereunto afilx my jectecl position, means limiting the downsignature.

ward movement of the tumblers, and key ztctlmted means for shifting the tumblers to ROBERT L. WILLIAMSON. 

